Perfect
by SavvyAngel
Summary: A snowstorm hits New York, and Lindsay sits at home doing some serious and not so serious thinking. What happens when she gets a surprise visitor? Slight spoilers, listed in the first chapter. DL, of course. Final chapter up!
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own anything relating to CSI: NY, as much as I wish to. Trust me, if I did, Danny and Lindsay would've been making babies a long time ago. Also, slight spoilers from episodes Not What It Looks Like, Love Run Cold, and anything I've gathered about Lindsay's past/deep, dark secret from previews, etc.

A/N: This is the first fanfic I've ever actually written out, though I have many running through my mind. In the end, it will be four chapters long. Much thanks to WingFetish, my lovely Beta, for putting up with me all the time and for all of her input.

* * *

Perfect

By SavvyAngel

_Great. Just great_, she thought. _I've been back for three weeks, and there's been more snow than the rest of the winter combined_. _Just… perfect. _

Lindsay Monroe stood near the window of her medium sized Manhattan apartment, staring out into the blinding white fury that was the biggest snowstorm she could remember experiencing in a very long time. As the building creaked from the force of the wind, her eyes widened, fearing a cave-in, or something _completely unreasonable_, she reminded herself. _This is a huge complex in New York, not some wooden barn, it's not going to…_ Her thoughts broke, hearing thunder in the distance.

Lindsay rolled her eyes at Mother Nature, but silently thanked whoever had made sure she wasn't on duty tonight. Processing anything in this howling wind and fierce snowfall would have been difficult, especially if she had been stuck in the lab with Danny.

_Stop,_ she told herself as her mind began to wander to her partner while she walked towards the kitchen to scour the cabinets for food. She hadn't seen much of the New Yorker since her return from Montana, thanks to Mac assigning her to the lab most days, claiming he didn't want her to "rush back into anything she wasn't ready to handle."

_Right. He's probably just afraid that I'm going to run away from a scene again._ Not that she hadn't gone through the same thought process, but _this is different_, she reasoned. _My own boss is losing faith in me?_ But Danny, it seemed hadn't lost any confidence in her. _Well, any more than he's ever had_, Lindsay reminded herself.

But whenever Danny was around it was as if things had never changed. _Like he'd never asked me out, like I hadn't stood him up and I hadn't used the worst excuse in the book to avoid him cornering me in the hallway of the_ _PD,_ she thought. She still chided herself for ever claiming "it's not you, it's me," no matter how true it actually was.

_How the hell did I ever get away with saying that?_ she wondered, as she opened the nearly-bare cabinets. _I mean, honestly_, she thought, grabbing the slightly stale box of crackers,_ someone should give me a book on what not to say and circle that line. And underline it. With a pink highlighter. _

As she wandered through the small kitchen, wearing the warmest pair of dark grey sweatpants she could find, and quite possibly the oldest t-shirt she had, _laundry. I need to do my laundry_, Lindsay contemplated just calling for takeout. When the howling wind reminded her of the storm outside, she decided against the idea.

"Fine, I won't order out, and make some poor slob drive in this just to bring me some pizza. Probably no one open at this time of night anyway," she said to her fridge, empty save for 3 bottles of water, a can of soda, and something mysterious wrapped in tin foil that _definitely needs to be thrown out_. Taking the oddly shaped leftover and a bottle of water, the Montana native walked towards the trash, deposited the mystery object, and continued back into the living room. Flopping onto the couch, Lindsay's thoughts began wandering back to the weeks she had spent in Montana for the trial. A shiver ran down her spine as the thought of _his_ face staring at her with cold, steel, spiteful eyes as she testified went through her mind…

"No!" she exclaimed to the air. _It's over, done and I never have to go through this again. _

Instead, she began thinking of the time she'd spent back in New York. Even just being in the lab, she'd been through many case files. True, there had been more snow in the city since she had come back (which Danny and Flack blamed her wholeheartedly for), but other than that things had been as normal as they could get in the NY Crime Lab. It seemed like everyone had asked her how she was for the first few days, but after hearing _I'm Fine_ each time, they had gone back to a regular old routine.

And some had gone back to a 'normal' that had been established far before that fall. In fact, she mused, once Danny had seen that she was fine, he had gone back to the teasing, the smirks, glances in her direction that he thought she couldn't see, and calling her 'Lindsay' only once in a blue moon. She smiled as she thought of the way 'Montana' rolled off his tongue in the thick New York accent that, before moving here, she thought must only be reserved for the movies; that no one could possibly talk like that in real life. But this, this was exactly the reason that she wasn't _fine, like I've been telling everyone and their mother that I am._

As she bit into a stale cracker, Lindsay's smile slanted, thinking of the man who was starting to make everything exactly the opposite of fine. Even though she had been stuck in Montana for the trial, nightmares returning in full the whole time she had been there, it was the thought of Danny that comforted her, and helped her get through the ordeal. Sure, she had seen her family for the first time in awhile, and had visited her friends in the Bozeman Crime Lab, but everywhere she turned she was reminded of the place she never thought she would adapt to – the city that she now called home. Taking a drink from the water bottle, Lindsay continued allowing her mind to wander, trying to understand why her partner was suddenly occupying so much space in her head. _Starting? Oh, he's been there for awhile. You just pushed him to the back burner for as long as possible, and now that you have no real excuse not to, the maddeningly gorgeous New Yorker's made his way to the front._

Danny was cocky as hell, occasionally arrogant, annoying, and there were times she just wanted to slap that smirk right off his face. But for the most part, she fought back with as much stubbornness as she could and had come to find that in truth, he was funny, kind, and _everything you've ever wanted, all wrapped up in a nice, perfect package?_ She rolled her eyes at the inner voice she was fighting with, saying that she had figured him out.

Well, figured out his system of the various names he called her, at least. When they were on good terms, working a case together, and he was happy to be around her, Montana, or Monroe, were the calls she was used to hearing. _Or, when he wants to get a rise out of you… which happens quite a bit._ When things were more strained, or a case was more serious and stress-inducing, he might call her by her given name. It was when they were on bad terms, not working cases together and not having good days, that he would only call her Lindsay. The singular time he had used her full name, she remembered while trying to ignore the creak of the building, was that day in the PD. When he had finally caught up to her, asking with everything he had what was going on with her.

_Hell if I know_, she thought. _I'm still not sure what's wrong with me, especially when he's around_. Lindsay shook her head at the train of thoughts she had just been through, and reached for the remote lying on the coffee table, grasping for a chance of anything that she could use to zone out. Just as her finger pressed the power button, she heard a knock on the apartment door.

Lindsay turned towards the door, trying to figure out who in their right mind would be knocking at her door at 11….something at night. She looked back at the TV to find the time, and seeing that it was 11:15 wondered if it could possibly be any of her neighbors looking for flashlights, candles, or anything else in case the storm knocked out power. Since most of them were probably asleep, she tried to figure out who else it could possibly be. The knock came again, slightly louder this time, and she got up to answer it. _I know no one… ok, one person who is crazy enough to be out in this weather, knocking on my door at 11:15 at night but there's no way in… _

"Come on, Montana, don't leave a guy standing out in the cold!"


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: Nope, I still don't own them. ::sigh:: Unfortunately. I promise if I ever do own anything having to do with CSI: NY, I'll share with you all.

A/N: Thanks to all my lovely reviewers, you guys make me happy. Here's chapter two for all of you, and thanks again to WingFetish for beta-ing. Happy reading!

* * *

She couldn't even finish her thought as the One Crazy Person she knew called to her from the other side of the door. _What in the name of holy hell is he DOING here?_

Lindsay opened the door to find Danny Messer standing just outside her doorway, slightly soggy, with a handful of snow left on him that hadn't turned to water, bearing two pizza boxes wrapped in plastic bags, and wearing a smirk that instantly made her the slightest bit weak at the knees. Which, she obviously choose to ignore.

"You're not outside. You're just in the hallway of my apartment building, so don't complain," she said with a smile. "Come on in. Don't drip on the hardwood floor, Messer."

"Funny. I come bearing food, and that's all you have to say? 'Don't drip on the hardwood?'"

She shrugged, and thought about how glad she was that they could banter like this again as he walked into her place. "Why are you here at 11:30 on a Friday night? In the middle of a snowstorm, nonetheless?"

Danny smiled as he took his coat off, shaking the remaining snow off in the hallway before shutting the door behind him. "11:15. And I just got off my shift about half an hour ago, so I figured I'd stop and grab something to eat. You don't have food in the house and you're the type that wouldn't want to bother some poor kid just so you could get take out, so I got a couple pies, came here and stood out in your hall for five minutes before you let me in," he finished with the trademark Messer smirk, and she thought for a moment that he might want to get it copyrighted. Not that anyone else could perfect it quite as well as he had.

"It wasn't even a full minute. How did you know I didn't have any food?" she asked, walking towards the couch, genuinely curious as to how he figured her out so well.

"I, uh, overheard you talking to Stella earlier, and remembered that you mentioned seriously needing to get some groceries."

"Well, maybe I had gone to get some after work this morning." She turned back towards him, arms crossed and knowing there was something else behind his presence, but she couldn't quite see it.

"Monroe, come on." Lindsay looked at him as if to say, _oh no. You're not getting out of this._ I… all right fine," he said, taking the boxes out of the plastic bags. "Your place is about 10 blocks closer to the lab than mine, there wasn't a cab in sight, and I thought we could eat some food, and you know, just… hang out. Haven't seen much of you since your escapade to Montana." He looked to her for acceptance of his explanation, and she made the mistake of looking him straight in the eye.

_And that is going to be your downfall. _She knew, had known for months, that his eyes were her weakness. Something melted inside her, bits of the walls she had built around herself broke whenever she looked into his perfect, blue eyes. Even when they were working a case, his eyes could make her feel like a lovesick teenager. _Bet Mac would love to know that one._ The eyes that could make her feel a hundred different emotions, all in a matter of minutes. And this puppy dog look he was giving her was almost more than she could handle.

She tore her gaze away, but smiled, and he took that for a good reaction. He handed her the boxes, and as she set them on the coffee table, she frowned for a moment. "Wait… if you just got out at 10:45, how did you manage to get pizza before anyplace closed?"

He looked at her incredulously. "Montana, there ain't a pizza place in the city that's closed this early. Not even for snow."

"Oh," she said, still slightly amazed at this information.

Danny smirked, clearly amused at her reaction. "You've been living in New York for what? Two years? And you're still shocked that the pizza joint is open at 11 on a Friday night?"

"…year and a half," Lindsay mumbled.

He laughed, sitting down on the couch, patting the seat next to him so she would sit down. She wondered at him, more comfortable in her own home than she was feeling at the moment. As she went to sit, Mom's Manners 101 kicked in, and she blurted out, "You want something to drink?"

Damn him, if he gave her that adorable look one more time. "Sure. What're my options?"

"Umm… a bottle of water, or a can of soda. Oh, or one of the above poured into a glass."

"I'll take the bottle."

As Lindsay walked off into the kitchen, smiling because she now had food, _oh sure. Keep telling yourself that's what you're smiling about_, she hoped that the feeling in the pit of her stomach of 'this can't end well' would be wrong. And would go away very quickly, since it was extremely distracting, and she did not need one more thing distracting her around Danny. _Those eyes are enough. And his smile. And the tight shirt doesn't hurt either… stop. It. Right. Now._

"Plates?" she called to the other room as she took a bottle out of the fridge.

"Only if you've got really good china, Monroe."

_Smartass_, she thought, reaching for the paper plates stored above the sink. Taking two, she walked back into the other room, but not before checking her reflection in the toaster. _Ugh, I look terrible. _She tried to fix her hair before realizing what she was doing, and why, shook her head at herself and continued on to the living room.

When she looked up and saw Danny sitting on the couch, Lindsay thought that it seemed as if he belonged there. He was completely unphased by the fact that he was in her apartment, sitting on her furniture, and was simply keeping his laid back, purely New-York-bred attitude.

"Here," she said, handing him the water and plates. He smirked again, and she thought about smacking it off of his face _or kissing it off…wait. Where did THAT thought come from? Go away,_ before he could respond.

"Chinette, eh? Sounds good to me," he said with a wink. She sat next to him, taking a drink as he put started to put a slice of the pizza on each plate. _One cheese, one everything… no. It's coincidence. He couldn't possibly remember that_. "I figured I'd grab one of each. Didn't know what you'd be in the mood for, Montana," he said, licking his lips unconsciously and silently asking her which she wanted.

"Just… cheese, thanks," she responded, wondering if maybe he really did know her better than she thought. After all, she had two pizza modes – plain cheese, absolutely nothing special about it, and everything they could possibly fit onto the top. Which one she ate on a particular day all depended on her mood of the moment. "How'd you know?"

He smiled shyly (_was that even possible?_) as he handed her the plate and reminded her, "The last time couple times we all ordered out, that was all you got. So, you gonna keep staring at me like I have four heads, or do you need help with that?" She glanced down, seeing that her pizza had indeed gotten halfway to her mouth before she began staring at him. _Cause that's something new._

They continued eating in silence for a few minutes, listening to the storm outside and the heavy fall of snow beating itself against her window. When she managed to make a comment about work, between slices of course, they eased into a conversation ranging in everything from recent cases, to Mac's work habits ("I swear, if the man didn't have to sleep in order to survive, he wouldn't.") and somehow made it around to each of their crazy neighbors ("Oh no, Messer I can beat that. I literally have a crazy cat lady two floors down who listens to Beethoven at 5 a.m.") In no time, both detectives were laughing and completely enjoying the company they had during the storm. Which then took the opportunity to remind them of its presence. The wind picked up quickly, and Lindsay heard another distant clap of something closely resembling thunder. They both paused, looking toward the window and trying to see just how bad it had gotten outside.

The building creaked again, throwing some of Lindsay's earlier fear back onto her face. Danny turned at her quick intake of breath, concern etched on his face.

"What's wrong, Montana?"

Lindsay let her breath out, trying to regain her composure in front of him. "Nothing, it's just… every time the wind does that I think the building's going to fall over."

Danny's face contorted in a way that showed her he was trying desperately not to laugh.

"It's not funny! The building's old and…"

"Doesn't mean it's gonna collapse on you, Monroe. Lots of old buildings around here, and I'd bet money that not one has fallen cause of a simple little snowstorm," Danny replied.

She raised her eyebrow at that. "'Little' snowstorm? You call this LITTLE?!"

He was laughing wholeheartedly now. "Absolutely. This is nothing compared to some of the storms I've seen up here. Come on, you don't get snow in Montana?"

She rolled her eyes at him. "Of course we do. We get a ton of it, but I always figured it wouldn't hit quite so heavy out here."

Danny laughed again. She was ready to take the bottle of water he was going to drink and dump the rest of it on his head if he did it one more time. He was getting to her again, and as much as she tried to suppress it, the part of her that enjoyed his teasing jumped to the surface and almost made her blush. _Almost._ She took this inopportune moment to look into his sparkling eyes again, and suddenly, everything was black.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I still have no rights to the characters whose lives I am manipulating for my own pleasure. ;)

A/N: Apologies for not putting in the spoiler to this earlier, I thought I had left it in, but apparently it got taken out somewhere along the way. (Thanks to Bao Blossom for pointing it out to me). Also, everyone's reviews make me very happy, so thankee! Chapter 3 is yours, happy reading! (and WingFetish betas my life.)

* * *

"What the HELL… seriously? Did the lights really just go out? The wind's been going for how long and NOW the lights decide to go?" Lindsay exclaimed, only slightly freaked out by the fact that she was now alone in the dark with Danny.

Danny chuckled, then asked simply, "Got any flashlights Monroe? Candles or something, cause I'm thinkin' we might be needing them."

"Yeah, I put a flashlight over… there…"

"…If you're pointing to someplace, you know I can't see you, right?"

"Shut up, Messer."

She got up, trying to walk to the other side of the table to get the flashlight she had left out, figuring that this might happen. What she managed to do was trip over Danny and fall right into him. She gasped as he caught her in his arms, quickly letting out a "sorry" and pulling away before her memories of the last time he had held her _just like this in his arms_ came back in full force. Lindsay finally managed to get the flashlight, turning it on and fishing around in some drawers to find candles she could put around the apartment. _Of course, he has to help. Does he really need to stand this close,_ she thought as Danny came with her, taking the box of matches she handed him and beginning to light the candles, placing several on the coffee table and various other places. After they finished, she lit a candle of her own to carry around, since her flashlight was slowly losing battery power. _Grocery list: batteries._ She and Danny walked back toward the couch, and in the process of doing so her candle's flame flickered and died.

"Hey, your candle went out," Danny remarked. "Let me light it for you."

He expertly lit another match, gently putting it to the wick of the candle in her hands. As he did so, Lindsay tried not to think of what her Renthead friends would see behind the implications of his words, and the situation on a whole. She prayed he couldn't see the blush creeping into her cheeks as thoughts of wax, handcuffs and everything else from one of her favorite musicals rushed through her head. _God help me if he thinks I'm blushing because of him. Not that he'd be wrong, but I'd never hear the end of it._

"Thanks," she replied, sitting back down beside him on the couch. "I figured the lights would go out but I guess it still took me by surprise. Just one more thing to add to the list of things to do or get fixed since I've been back," she explained, hoping he couldn't hear her thoughts about other things she still felt the need to fix.

"Yeah," Danny replied, pausing for a moment before replying. She looked over at him, hearing the hesitation in his voice, like he wanted to say something but wasn't sure how to. He ran his fingers up and down the length of the water bottle, eyebrows furrowing in a way that was usually reserved for particularly difficult pieces of evidence. He finally spoke a few moments later, not quite bringing his gaze back up to hers. "How, uh… how was Montana?"

She knew he wasn't just talking about the trial. There was a hidden question between the lines that she still wasn't sure there was a distinctive answer to, even though her heart was starting to make her believe differently.

"It… it was Montana. Nothing had really changed since I left two years ago, and when I visited my old lab, the only thing people wanted to hear about was New York. They wouldn't talk about the reason I was back," she said, a sad smile on her face. "But… the trial and everything… there were memories I had suppressed for years. They all had to come out but, at least now they caught the bastard. I just…" she sighed, trying to hide the bitter sadness in her voice. "People expect me to miss it more than I do, I guess. My family is really the only thing left there for me to miss."

He looked as if he was planning each of his next words very carefully. "So, everything go relatively according to plan then? You work through… everything?"

When Lindsay didn't answer right away, and a few moments had passed, Danny looked up, and found her staring at the window. She was doing some serious thinking of her own, and was hesitant to answer him. What she truly, honestly, deep in her heart wanted to say was very close to the tip of her tongue; but she was still unsure. She wondered what…

"Lindsay?" he interrupted her thoughts.

_No_, she found herself thinking. _Please, don't call me Lindsay; call me Montana, Monroe, anything but Lindsay, please don't get serious here. I can't stand to break both our hearts again_.

"Danny, I… I don't know. I mean, things are better, but… God, why are you doing this?" She felt herself breaking suddenly, everything she had been feeling about him coming out at once. She rose from the couch, beginning to walk towards the window. "I… I can't do this," saying it to him as much as to herself.

He could sense that the conversation wasn't done. Not unless he was the one to end it, and Lindsay knew that Danny Messer didn't give up that easily. _Damn it,_ she thought, feeling something close to heartache and a tear forming inside her. She turned back towards him, a _let's just get this all out now, shall we?_ look on her face.

He moved his glasses up slightly, rubbing the bridge of his nose between his forefinger and thumb. "I'm just trying to figure out what's going on with you, that's all. I'm just… I'm trying to be your friend here, Lindsay."

She turned towards the window again, willing to face any storm to get away from his half-smile. The hope that maybe this time things could end differently was written on his face, and those perfect blue eyes, tinted with sadness that she still knew would be her downfall, seemed to look right through her.

"I don't WANT to be your friend, Danny!!" she exclaimed. Lindsay could only imagine the look on his face, refusing to turn back and meet his gaze. If she had turned around, her thoughts would've been confirmed – his face showed his heart breaking in ways he didn't think was even possible.

"From day one, you teased me, trying desperately to annoy me out of New York," she said, wanting to get everything she had ever thought about her partner, the Detective Danny Messer, out in the open. And he sure as hell was not going to interrupt her, or she really would dump that freezing cold water on his head. Or possibly go outside, get some snow and throw it at him. "Sure, I came into Aiden's old spot, but it wasn't my choice! I was getting a new job, for Christ sakes. I didn't know the history behind it, I didn't know a damn thing about anything in the city or the lab, I just wanted to get out of Montana.

"I could've sworn on a Bible that for three months you didn't know my actual name. I figured after a while you were just teasing the rookie, but still. Then Sid tells me the only reason you call me Montana is because you have a crush on me–"

"Sid told you what?"

"– Which, got me to thinking," she continued, as if he hadn't even spoken. "Thinking about why exactly I was happy going to work every day. Why I put so much damn effort into my wardrobe when I knew it would probably get ruined by the end of the day anyway. Why I was more excited to work cases with you then Hawkes or Stella. And thinking about why the hell I was even thinking about this!

"So I didn't. I did my job for months. Then, a few months ago, I can't avoid you anymore. You just…" she sighed here, wondering how to phrase this part of her tirade, "there was something else there. And I could feel it, you know that. But I couldn't handle any of it, and I don't know if I can now either. I mean, my GOD the entire time I was in Montana, and I do mean literally almost every waking moment, the only thing I could think about was being back here. And you were included in most of those thoughts. And it's so DAMN frustrating! Because there's no way in hell that I should be thinking about you this much, or really at all. I should be doing my JOB like I said I was going to. I didn't come here to find… anything. I came to escape and I ended up with more than I bargained for. Especially with you. I don't know what to do with you, Danny."

She sighed again, knowing what she had to say, but still frustrated with his silence. Even if, _for once, _he wasn't talking when she wanted him to stay quiet. Hell, it seemed that a silent Danny Messer could get to her just as easily as the overly talkative one she was used to.

"I mean… I… oh GOD. I don't even KNOW what I want!" she exclaimed. "I, it's not that I don't want to be friends but… I don't trust myself to leave it at that."

Danny looked up, the smallest glimmer of hope back in his heart. As she turned back towards him, Lindsay had the slightest tinge of a blush on her cheeks.

And this time, he definitely noticed. And he wasn't going to let her leave an open question on the table, not for a second. As he rose up from the couch and started walking towards her, Lindsay knew that look on his face – the determined _I am going to make my point and you can't do a damn thing about it_ look that she had seen plenty of times. Deciding that maybe, just maybe she didn't want to know exactly what that determination was for, she turned back around to the snow-covered window.

He was getting closer so they could talk, face to face, no distance between them.

"Lindsay…" he started, but never quite finished the thought. When he placed his left hand on her shoulder, Lindsay turned around and looked up at him. Danny suddenly reached out, placing his other hand gently on her neck, rubbing his thumb along her cheek. He looked down at her lips for the smallest second, then back at her chocolate brown eyes before lowering his mouth to hers.

He laid the gentlest of kisses on her lips, his heart pouring out to her in the sweetest, most perfect, most chaste and, somehow, also the most intimate kiss she had ever experienced in her life. As he pulled away slowly, Lindsay let out a breath she didn't know she had been holding, opening her eyes to find his own staring back at her, only inches between them.


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: Nope, still don't own them.

A/N: Well, here it is – the final chapter. To everyone who reviewed – thank you so much, you make writing this even more fun. And your thoughts/ comments are always interesting to read. ;) WingFetish beta'd, and thanks to my friend Moony for helping as well. Hope you like the ending, and happy reading!

* * *

_Holy crap he's good at that,_ was the first coherent thought that came to her mind. She realized his thumb was still running the length of her cheek, but found that it bothered her much less than it really should have. She tried to speak, but this time, Danny was the one who cut her off.

"Look, Lindsay I… I want this. And I'm gonna start by being honest," he said, looking at her with nothing but truth and adoration in his gaze. "I have this thing for you, if you couldn't tell." She smiled a little, thinking _oh, I can tell, Danny. Trust me._ "And I have, for awhile now. But, I lied when I was talking to you at the PD a few months ago."

At this, she frowned. She tried to figure out exactly what he meant before he spoke again.

"I said that I was just looking for a few laughs, drinks, the usual, not a relationship. And, it's just not true. The only reason I said that was because I figured it was what you wanted, and there was no way I was gonna do anything to drive you away when we were so close. Thing is, you're in my mind all the time, and I don't think I want anything but a relationship with you. But I don't wanna pressure you into this, I just, I need you to know that. There's nobody I want more than you, Lindsay."

She almost gave right then, but there was something else eating away at her.

"Danny I… I don't even know if I know how to do this. I haven't been in a relationship in a very long time. As in several years. And I don't know if I really remember how to do this, or if I can. I don't want to hurt you, and I don't want to get hurt either. And what happens if… this… starts to affect our jobs? Or if we do, do this and it ends badly? And Mac, what'll Mac say if I have to ask to be off a case because you're on it and we can't be around each other? Or if…"

She stopped rambling, her most obvious nervous habit, when he placed a finger over her lips. Danny smirked slightly, "I'm not even sure if we're together, and you've already got us breaking up and talking to Mac about it? C'mon Montana, give me a chance here."

An almost frightened look came into her eyes. "We're… not?" she said, his fingers slightly blocking her question.

Danny responded, "This is up to you, Linds. You know… everything, basically," and he took her hand, forcing her to look into his eyes. "I am not going to ever do anything to hurt you, I can promise you that. I can't promise that you'll never get mad at me, or that I won't act like an idiot sometimes, cause I might not be as good at keeping my mouth shut as you think I would be. I also can't promise that sometimes, I might worry that I'll get my heart broken in this, cause I've got a lot of stock in us already. There's no way this is gonna affect work, cause I'll just keep flirting with you like I usually do," he said with a wink. "And God knows if they manage to find out, and they will eventually, Stella and Flack will not stop making fun of us. But it doesn't matter. None of it does, because this – you and me – I'm thinking it's worth it. I'm thinking it's worth anything, and I'm hoping that you might agree."

Here it was, laid out on the table before her, everything she had been wanting to hear from Danny for months. He could not possibly have made a more perfect speech to get to her, and she felt the last brick from the wall around her heart fall to the ground. She was smiling now, a small tear forming in her eye as she told him, "I'm crazy about you, Danny Messer. And I won't break your heart, I'd rather die first. I'm not going to get any less stubborn or competitive at work because we're together. And yes, they will find out, gossiping little teenagers that Stella and Flack are," Danny's smile widened at her side remark, "but not for awhile if I have anything to say about it. And it's definitely worth it; you're worth it.

"I want to be with you, Danny. And I'm not running away this time," Lindsay finished.

She hadn't actually thought his smile could get bigger, but it did. And she felt hers grow as well.

"So, we're doing this? We're…"

"Yeah, we are." They were both happy to the point of near-giddiness, glad that the night had turned out so much differently than either had expected. He grabbed her hand again, walking back to the couch, away from the cold draft of the window, to sit. _Finally,_ was the thought in both their minds as they looked at each other again. And this time, Lindsay leaned up to kiss him.

When they finally broke apart for _air. Oxygen. Breathing, breathing would be good at some point here_, Danny pulled her to him, holding her against his chest. This time, when the building creaked with the huge gust of wind, Lindsay didn't even shudder. She felt safe, warm and _home_ for the first time, and there was no way a silly storm was going to take that feeling away. In fact, she thought…

"You know Messer, it's still pretty rough out there. I'm having a thought that you might be interested in," she said.

He raised his eyebrow. "Oh really? And what might that be, Miss Monroe?"

She giggled, _good GOD, am I 16 again? Get a grip, Lindsay… Oh screw it,_ she thought, simply glad that the man of her dreams was currently holding her. "Well, this 'little' snowstorm doesn't seem to be getting any smaller. And, it would just be mean of me to actually throw my brand new boyfriend out into this kind of weather."

He pulled away slightly to look at her, wondering if she was about to suggest what he thought she might be.

Lindsay smiled, saying, "So, what do you think about maybe… staying here for the night?" He smirked, and she blushed, quickly remembering (despite the best efforts of her subconscious) to add, "But not… like… that. I don't…"

"I know. Me neither. We're not rushing into anything here, Montana. But, this couch seems pretty damn comfortable, if you ask me. So, I'd love to stay." Danny looked as though he really would like nothing better, and she felt another rush of happiness. And then another few minutes of being unable to breathe quite right.

She laughed a little as they ended their kiss, and Danny looked down at her, saying, "What? Not good enough for you, Monroe? Cause I can probably do better, you know."

Lindsay looked at him, brown into blue, letting him know exactly what she was thinking. She seemed to be doing that a lot lately around him.

"Oh it's not that. And I don't actually think it's possible for you to be better," she said with a wink. "I was just thinking that this is the most unexpected, best… snowstorm I've ever seen."

Danny laughed too, holding her close again. As she leaned back into his arms, Lindsay thought _this is just so… perfect. _


End file.
